Montville Township High School Explained

Montville Township High School
Motto:"You Can't Hide From Mustang Pride"
Established:1968
Grades:9-12
District:Montville Township School District
Type:Public high school
Principal:Douglas Sanford
Enrollment:1,112 (as of 2022–23)
Faculty:107.0 FTEs
Ratio:10.4:1
Us Nces School Id:341065004332
Team Name:Mustangs
Conference:Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (general)
North Jersey Super Football Conference (football)
Colors: Green and
white
Address:100 Horseneck Road
City:Montville
County:Morris Township
State:New Jersey
Zipcode:07045
Country:United States
Pushpin Map:USA New Jersey Morris County#USA New Jersey#USA
Newspaper:The Podium[1]
Yearbook:Traces[2]

Montville Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Montville Township, in suburban Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school was founded in 1971 and serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Montville Township School District. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1975.[3]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,112 students and 107.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.4:1. There were 21 students (1.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 5 (0.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[4]

History

MTHS was founded in 1968 with only a ninth grade class; previously, high school students from the township attended nearby Boonton High School.[5] For the first two years of its existence the school was lodged in what was then referred to as Central School (now named Robert R. Lazar School, located on Change Bridge Road, within sight of the new high school). An additional grade was added in each of the following three years. In September 1970, the student body moved into the new building (located on Horseneck Road), built on what was formerly The Sunset Dairy Farm, a.k.a. Sisco Tract; constructed at a cost of $4 million (equivalent to $ million in), the new facility opened with only classrooms open and no gym, library or other facilities completed.[6] The initial class to complete all four years at MTHS graduated in 1972.[7]

The first principal of the High School was Dr. Arthur Dermer,[8] followed by Dr. Timothy Dyas. Another long-serving principal was Dr. Clifford Keezer. After the initial recruitment of a high school staff in 1968, the Montville School District gradually added to the faculty as it became a full four-year school.

The mascot adopted by the Board of Education for the high school suitably fit with the several horse/riding farms within the township.

The auditorium of the High School is named in honor of Dr. Robert O. Stafford, who was raised in the township and was a long-time teacher and administrator at MTHS.

Awards, recognition and rankings

In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 198th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 31st among all high schools in New Jersey and 15th among the state's non-magnet schools.[9]

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 415th in the nation among participating public high schools and 34th among schools in New Jersey.[10]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 41st in New Jersey and 1,346th nationwide.[11] In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Montville High School was listed in 964th place, the 28th-highest ranked school in New Jersey.[12]

The school was the 51st-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[13] The school had been ranked 39th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 47th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[14] The magazine ranked the school 54th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[15] The school was ranked 49th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[16]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 114th out of 389 public high schools statewide in its 2012 rankings (a decrease of 42 positions from the 2011 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (88.2%) and language arts literacy (96.7%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[17]

Graduate statistics

Based on data for the Class of 2017 from the New Jersey School Report Card, the graduation rate was 99%.[18] Average SAT scores were 581 Mathematics, 548 Critical Reading and 554 Writing, for a composite score of 1683, vs. statewide averages of 496/521/497 and a composite of 1514; Of students who took the SAT, 65.1% met the standard of college readiness with a composite score of 1550, vs. a statewide average of 44.6%. There were 19 AP courses offered / exams taken, with 42.1% of students taking at least one exam and 84.5% scoring 3 or above.[19]

Athletics

The Montville High School Mustangs[20] compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, an athletic conference comprising public and private high schools located in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties in Northern New Jersey, that was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[21] [22] With 904 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range.[23] Montville is assigned to the American Division for most sports. Prior to the NJSIAA's realignment that took effect in the fall of 2009, Montville was a member of the Suburban Division of the Northern Hills Conference.[24] The football team competes in the Patriot White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.[25] [26] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 680 to 884 students.[27]

The 1978 baseball team finished the season at 16-10 after winning the Group II state championship with a 3–1 win against South Brunswick High School in the championship game.[28] [29] The 2007 Mustang baseball team defeated Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, 9–7, to take the North I Group III section title for the first time since 1989.[30] The team has won the Morris County Tournament three times, tied for the fourth-most in tournament history, winning in 1974, 1980 and 1992.[31]

The girls' field hockey team won the North II Group II state sectional championship in 1975 and 1977, and the North II Group III state sectional title in 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1984. The team won the Group III state championship in 1980 (vs. Ocean Township High School), 1981 (vs. Camden Catholic High School) and 1983 (as co-champion with Hillsborough High School).[32] The 1980 team finished the season with a record of 19-1-3 after winning the Group III title with a 3–2 win against Ocean Township in overtime in the tournament final at Mercer County Park.[33]

The girls' lacrosse team won the overall state championship in 1984, defeating Moorestown Friends School in the tournament final.[34]

The girls tennis team won the Group III state championship in 2013, defeating Princeton High School in the tournament final.[35] The 2013 team beat Moorestown High School 4–1 in the semifinals and moved on to defeat Princeton 4–1 in the finals.[36]

In 2001, the Montville boys' soccer team won the North II, Group II state sectional title with a 2–1 win in the championship game against Pequannock Township High School in sudden death overtime.[37] In 2009, the Montville boys' soccer team tied Madison High School 0–0 in the final of the Morris County tournament. The shared title was the first in the program's history.[38] The Mustangs went on to win their third ever sectional title, beating Northern Highlands Regional High School 2–0 in the final.[39] In 2010, Montville captured the Morris County boys' soccer title outright, winning 1–0 in overtime against Chatham High School.[40] The Mustangs also repeated as sectional champions, defeating Wayne Valley High School 5–1 in the section final for their fourth ever title.[41]

The girls' track team won the Group I indoor relay state championship in 2002.[42]

In 2003, the Montville Mustang football team set school records with nine wins and six shut outs, winning the first round of the state sectionals before losing in the state semi-final game, earning induction into the Montville Township Hall of Fame in 2011.[43] [44]

The ice hockey team won the Haas Cup in 2009 and 2018, and won the Halvorsen Cup in 2015.[45]

The boys' wrestling team won the North I Group III state sectional title in 2009, 2019 and 2020. The team won the Group III state championship in 2020.[46]

The boys' bowling team won the Group III state championship in 2014 and wom the Group II title in 2022.[47]

In 2014, Meg Hishmeh was hired as the head coach of the boys' ice hockey team to steer the team in a new direction, becoming the first women hockey coach of a boys' team in the state.[48]

Extracurricular activities

The school's marching band won the USBands Group III A national championship in 2015 with their program Equilibrium.[49]

In 2018, teacher Mary Gormley received the "National Educator of the Year" award from the National Speech and Debate Association for her work as a both a coach and educator.[50]

The school's marching band won the USBands Group II-A national and state championships in 2018 with their program Elements.[51]

Administration

The school's principal is Douglas Sanford. His core administration team includes two assistant principals.[52]

Notable alumni

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.montville.net/userfiles/245/my%20files/2019-2020%20activities%20guide.docx.pdf?id=2966 2019-2020 Student Activities Guide
  2. https://www.montville.net/1/Content2/422 Extracurricular Activities
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20120424062607/http://www.css-msa.org/search.php?MODE=VIEW%28NJ203%29&org=CSS Montville Township High School
  4. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3410650&ID=341065004332 School data for Montville Township High School
  5. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53035862/ "Board Has Date on Hot Seat; Boonton Citizens Committee to Prove Budget"
  6. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/531574373/ "New Montville High Opens, Only One-Third Completed"
  7. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/532185379/ "160 in First Montville Graduating Class"
  8. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/527287653/ "Principal at Montville H.S. Expected to Quit Post Today"
  9. Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
  10. Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
  11. [Jay Mathews|Mathews, Jay]
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20070523055916/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/?sort=State&count=1257&search=&start=700&limit=100&year=2007& "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools"
  13. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  14. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2012.
  15. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 23, 2011.
  16. http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"
  17. http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NJ/schoolrank.aspx?level=3&findschool=1065004332 New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2011-2012
  18. Web site: Home - Performance Reports. rc.doe.state.nj.us. en. May 16, 2018 .
  19. http://www.state.nj.us/education/pr/1314/27/273340010.pdf Montville Township High School 2013-14 School Performance Report
  20. https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/montville-township-high-school Montville Township High School
  21. https://www.nwjerseyac.com/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=235 Home Page
  22. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021
  23. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/general-classifications-2018-2020.pdf NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20110128150637/http://northernhillsconference.com/ Home Page
  25. Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."
  26. Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions."
  27. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-08/Football%20%2722%20%26%20%2723.pdf NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024
  28. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/20-baseball-history.pdf NJSIAA Baseball Championship History
  29. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/494345826/ "Montville wins Group 2 crown"
  30. http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=220867&tclass=North%20I%2C%20Group%20III 2007 Baseball - North I, Group III
  31. https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/article/baseball-morris-county-tournament-championship-history/ "The history of the Morris County Baseball Tournament (Throwback Photos)"
  32. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-girls-field-hockey_0.pdf History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships
  33. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/145128768/ "Montville tops Ocean in overtime"
  34. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/20-girls-lacrosse-history.pdf NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse Championship History
  35. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-10/21-girls-team-tennis-history.pdf History of NJSIAA Girls Team Tennis Championships
  36. Breeman, Bill. "Montville wins Group III", Daily Record, October 18, 2013. Accessed January 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Matched against Moorestown in the semifinals, the Morris County Tournament champions rolled to a 4-1 victory behind dominant play from its doubles teams and singles victories from sisters Kaitlin and Erin Sanzone at second and third singles....The win over Moorestown set the stage for a finals showdown with unbeaten Princeton, which featured recently crowned NJSIAA singles champion Christina Rosca.... But the Mustangs took control of the match early and never looked back, using the same formula to produce a 4-1 victory."
  37. Kedem, Dan. "Montville gets the 'golden goal' that downs Pequannock", North Jersey Sports, November 10, 2001. Accessed September 28, 2016. "Emotions ran high in the North 2 Group 2 boys soccer sectional final between Pequannock and Montville on Friday afternoon.... But it was Montville that emerged victorious after Philippe Cardona delivered the 'golden goal' five minutes into the second overtime for the 2-1 win."
  38. http://www.jerseysportsnow.com/schools/montville/articles/091101-MontMadBSoccer.aspx "Montville ties Madison in county final"
  39. http://www.jerseysportsnow.com/schools/montville/articles/091113-MontNHBSoccer.aspx "Montville wins section title over No. Highlands"
  40. http://www.jerseysportsnow.com/schools/montville/articles/101030-MontChatBSoccer.aspx "Montville beats Chatham for Morris County title"
  41. http://www.jerseysportsnow.com/schools/montville/articles/101111-MontWVBSoccer.aspx "Montville waxes Wayne Valley in section final"
  42. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-12/20-relay-history_0.pdf History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships
  43. Staff. "Montville inducts 2003 football champs, eight alumni, administrator into Hall of Fame", The Citizen of Morris County, September 19, 2011. Accessed October 15, 2011.
  44. http://www.montville.net/Page/3874#team%20ID=1 2011 MTHS Hall of Fame: 2003 Football Team
  45. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/20-ice-hockey-history.pdf NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History
  46. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-04/2021-wrestling-history.pdf NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History
  47. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-07/22%20Bowling.pdf History of NJSIAA Boys' Bowling Championships
  48. Hageny, John Christian. "Ice Hockey: Meg Hishmeh breathes new life into Montville", The Star-Ledger, December 19, 2013. Accessed May 6, 2016. "In June, Meg Hishmeh was hired as the new coach of the Montville boys' ice hockey program. The first female coach installed at a boys' program in New Jersey, and only the second female coach in the Garden State joining Lawrenceville's Nicole Uliasz, Hishmeh met resistance, but after Montville's 3-2 triumph over Mount Olive last night helped it improve to a perfect 6-0 start the season in the Haas Division, said naysayers are now singing a different tune."
  49. http://yea.org/programs/usbands/fall/news/1084-congratulations-to-our-national-champions "Congratulations to Our National Champions!"
  50. Giannantoni, Christina. "Debate coach honored by the NSDA", The Star-Ledger, April 30, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2018. "Montville Township High School English teacher Mary Gormley has been named the 2018 National Teacher of the Year by the National Speech & Debate Association."
  51. Staff. "Montville Township High School Marching Band lands top spot", The Citizen of Morris County, November 5, 2018. Accessed November 9, 2018. "The Montville Township High School Marching Band took first place at the U.S. Bands National Competition on Saturday, Nov. 3, in Allentown, Pa. The Mustangs competed against 16 other Class II-A division schools. On Oct. 27, the band also landed first place at states."
  52. https://www.montville.net/o/high-school/page/administration Administration
  53. Web site: Ex-KIT CEO, Socialite Convicted at Fraud Trial . Bloomberg. December 26, 2017.
  54. http://www.montville.net/page/2174 Hall of Fame / Welcome
  55. https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/1/1776/ Yahoo! Sports Profile, "Lester Archambeau"
  56. http://www.montville.net/highschool/halloffame/index.asp?ID=1 Hall of Fame Member Profile: Lester Archambeau
  57. Marinello, Katie. "Jerseylicious Finale: Blois Sharpe Celebrates Future: With the Gatsby future uncertain, Olivia Blois Sharpe considers her options.", Montville Patch, October 17, 2011. Accessed November 10, 2011. "After five months, the Season 3 finale of Jerseylicious aired on Sunday with Montville Township High School grad Olivia Blois Sharpe contemplating her future."
  58. http://www.montville.net/page/2174 Hall of Fame
  59. Staff. "Rutgers Recruiting Class Nationally Ranked: Scarlet Knights rated 27th by College Soccer News", Rutgers Scarlet Knights, August 3, 2007. Accessed February 23, 2011. "Highlighting this group of standout players is Dilly Duka (Montville, N.J.), a midfielder from Montville High School, who Reasso has described as one of the best attacking midfielders graduating from the state of New Jersey last spring."
  60. https://archive.today/20120717222915/http://usaswimming.org/USASWeb/DesktopModules/BioViewManaged.aspx?personid=bc16bfe4-58ff-4653-984e-96a7124669e5&TabId=388&Mid=597 Lauren English
  61. https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/sports/game-on/2017/11/17/montville-high-school-hall-fame-welcoming-new-class/871975001/ "Montville Hall of Fame welcoming new class Friday"
  62. http://www.montville.net/Page/3874#team%20ID=1 2011 MTHS Hall of Fame
  63. https://virginiasports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2864 Kristem McNabb
  64. https://www.montville.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=2194 Hall of Fame Member Profile Dan O'Dowd
  65. Fox, Ron. "Montville Produced Super Duo", The Record, January 19, 1999. Accessed November 28, 2007.
  66. http://www.montville.net/highschool/halloffame/index.asp?ID=3 Hall of Fame Member Profile: Jim Price
  67. https://www.montville.net/page/2174 MTHS Hall of Fame
  68. http://www.drewrangers.com/coaches.aspx?path=softball&rc=395 Dena Tauriello
  69. http://www.montville.net/highschool/halloffame/index.asp?ID=7 Hall of Fame Member Profile: Peter Verniero
  70. [David Kocieniewski|Kocieniewski, David]
  71. Staff. "Montville's Warech living his dream playing professional basketball in Germany", USA Today High School Sports, December 31, 2013. Accessed August 12, 2018. "Growing up, Travis Warech always wanted to play professional basketball and on Oct. 18, 2013, his dream became a reality. Warech, a Montville High School graduate, landed in Germany in October to begin his professional basketball career with the Pro-A Gotha Rockets, a team based two hours outside of Frankfurt."
  72. http://www.montville.net/highschool/halloffame/index.asp?ID=24 "Hall of Fame Member profile: Pete Yorn"

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